| The anniversary exhibition of the oldest museum on the battlefield opened in Moscow The War of 1812 is a rewarding topic for exhibitions, of which there have been many in recent memory. Shiny uniforms, portraits of dashing and romantic generals, elegant military items, Empire style, Napoleon - people will always go for these. The Borodino Museum-Reserve decided to celebrate its 165th anniversary by opening in Moscow an exhibition of selected items from its collection, supplemented by documents from the Moscow archives - "Borodino. Battlefield, Field of Glory."
The authors of the exhibition, placing it in three small halls of the gallery on Solyanka, did not once again try to briefly present the history of the famous military campaign. The exhibition plan is clearly, simply and elegantly designed: the first hall is the history of the creation of the museum and the anniversary celebrations of Borodino; the second - portraits of participants in the 1812 campaign; the third is battle painting, from ancient to modern, and as a final touch - authentic examples of uniforms and battle relics found on the field by archaeologists.
The Borodino Field Museum is the oldest battlefield museum in the world. Thanks to Emperor Nicholas I, who understood the propaganda significance (although at that time it was not called that) of a victorious war and magnificently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Then the first monument appeared on the Borodino field (near the Raevsky mound battery) and the ashes of General Bagration were reburied, a small museum was founded, and Nikolai bought the Borodino estate and presented it to his heir Alexander Nikolaevich. Since then, the concern for “preserving in proper form” Borodin with its memorable places has become the business of the imperial family. Alexander Nikolaevich, having become Alexander II, did not forget about the museum, and Nicholas II turned the 100th anniversary of Borodin into the main imperial celebration. The widow of General Alexei Tuchkov, who died in the Bagration flushes, founded the Spaso-Borodinsky Monastery in his memory and became its abbess.
The main stages of this story are presented in the first hall. Borodino celebrations of 1912 - photographs from the album of the Moscow governor General V.F. Dzhunkovsky: Nicholas II, the Empress, members of the family are taking the parade. The documents in the display cases are worth reading. For example, a poster-announcement for the population of Mozhaisk district, published by Dzhunkovsky on August 11, 1912: “On August 25, Mozhaisk district will be blessed with the arrival of His Imperial Majesty the Sovereign Emperor and the Royal Family on the Borodino field on the occasion of the centenary of the Great Battle of Borodino... I I will take all measures to ensure that everyone who arrives at the Borodino celebrations has the opportunity to see their Tsar, Queen and Royal Family, but it should be borne in mind that the place where the celebrations will take place is extremely small in size, and therefore it is only possible to comfortably accommodate all spectators then, when they strictly carry out the orders and instructions of the police and other commanding officials entrusted to me... In conclusion, I consider it necessary to warn the population against drinking alcohol during celebrations; this measure will best express their respect for the memory of the heroes of the twelfth year and best of all; will ensure the order of the holiday." It is further indicated that tea will be organized for the people. Yes, the crowd of onlookers, not two active armies, which somehow had enough space under Borodino, turned around. But what is the language of the police order, in what expressions did the tsarist police issue orders to the population!
The exhibition tells about the battle itself in several (however important) touches. Plan of positions near the village of Borodino and the disposition of the Russian armies, drawn up on August 24-25, 1812, on the eve of the battle. January 1813, after the expulsion of the French, the bodies remaining from August were removed from the field. Statement: “In total, from the 5th to the 12th of January, 4045 corpses were burned, 3915 dead (we are talking about horse corpses); previously, 17,916 corpses were burned and buried, 8933 dead. In total, until January 12, 21,961 corpses were burned, 11,448 dead.”
Portraits of heroes of the twelfth year are always interesting to look at, and here, along with recognizable works, little-known ones are also exhibited. Young Bagration, young Miloradovich, Napoleon at the command post, Marshal Ney looms behind him. There are also portraits of French generals, mostly engraved. It’s nice that the Borodino Museum also has new acquisitions. For example, a year ago, acquired and by no means a familiar portrait of A.I. Chernyshev, who in 1812 commanded partisan detachments, previously carried out important military reconnaissance missions, later interrogated the Decembrists and occupied the chair of the Minister of War.
One of the paintings, the work of an unknown French artist of the mid-19th century, catches your attention. It depicts an attack by Caulaincourt's cavalry on Raevsky's battery. General Auguste Caulaincourt (brother of the diplomat and memoirist Armand Caulaincourt) at Borodin took command of the cavalry reserve instead of the mortally wounded Montbrun, attacked the Kurgan battery and died there, in the center of the battery, which the French soldiers called the “fatal redoubt”, “volcano”, “ hellish mouth" was buried. The painting, painted in oil, but in a black and white, graphic manner, unusual for its era, with energetic contour strokes depicts cuirassiers rapidly rushing into the attack, before our eyes turning into clouds of smoke, fog, and a ghostly army.
The Borodino Museum has a feature that few museums have: people gather around it. Both scientists and military history buffs. They stand at the center of celebrations of battle anniversaries and hold military-historical games and parades. And this year, as usual, on the first Sunday in September, a lot of people will gather on the former battlefield. However, tea most likely will not be organized for him. Olga OVEN |
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